Beef Emissions

According to the World Wildlife Fund, based on 2022 U.S. industry data, beef emissions mostly occur during farming stages, with the largest contributor being enteric (i.e., digestive) methane.1 As we look to help address our beef emissions, we are focusing additional efforts on initiatives that address three key farming stages: breeding, growing and finishing.

1 Moberg, E. (2022). Measuring and Mitigating GHGs: Beef, World Wildlife Fund.

Typical Emissions Share Across the Beef Supply Chain2

2 Based on U.S. industry data, not specific to RBI.

Our Strategy

We will do our part to advance the integration of responsible sourcing into our beef procurement practices by improving our sourcing approach, exploring best practices at all levels of the supply chain and driving innovative solutions through research and collaboration. In the coming years, we will concentrate our activities and investments on working with suppliers, our peers and other industry stakeholders to:

Identifying and Scaling Solutions

As the most significant environmental impacts of beef production are found at the feed and beef farming stages of the value chain, Burger King is committed to working with agricultural experts, ranchers and producers in its supply chain to explore and scale impactful solutions, such as regenerative agriculture practices and methane inhibiting feed additives.

Supporting Cattle Ranchers with Regenerative Agriculture Practices

Burger King teamed up with Cargill and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in 2022 on a $10 million, five-year plan to support cattle ranchers in six southern Great Plains states in adopting regenerative agriculture practices. This project aims to enhance grassland management, reduce GHG emissions, improve soil health, and foster biodiversity. Together, Cargill and Burger King have funded conservation projects that, once completed, are expected to protect, restore or improve grazing lands management on over 831,000 acres.

Australia Beef Supply Pilot 

In 2023, we conducted a pilot in Australia to test and validate practices to reduce emissions within the beef supply chain. Throughout the pilot, we worked with a large cattle producer in Australia to implement and measure the impact of several strategies with full traceability of the cattle from farm to restaurant, including:

  • using feed additives to reduce methane produced in cattle’s digestion process; and
  • implementing herd efficiency management practices to improve productivity and lower average herd age.

Following the pilot, we performed a life-cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate GHG emissions throughout the farming process, leveraging production data reports at the animal level to enhance the accuracy of results.

Latin America Beef Pilot

In 2024, we partnered with a beef supplier in Latin America to participate in their certified farms program. Certified farms within the program are expected to implement a range of different initiatives at the farm level to help reduce the total emissions throughout the life cycle of the cattle. Such farm-level initiatives include:

  • Livestock management
  • Management of agricultural inputs
  • Productivity and reduced herd age
  • Feed additives that target enteric fermentation

In addition to these initiatives, the full traceability of cattle from birth to slaughter helps us to ensure there is no exposure to deforestation for pasture usage.

Collaborating For Industry-Wide Improvements

We believe that a key way to truly effect change is to collaborate with our peers, experts and industry stakeholders. It is crucial to tackle systemic issues and to provide harmonized expectations – thus accelerating the adoption of responsible practices in beef production across our supply footprint. As a major purchaser of beef across global markets, it’s especially critical to bring the voice of the Burger King brand to the table to advance these efforts.

We are active participants in the global, multi-stakeholder collaboration on beef sustainability – the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) and the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB).

GRSB

As a member of the GRSB, we endorse its definition and core principles of sustainable beef as a:

“socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically viable product that prioritizes Planet (relevant principles: Natural Resources, Efficiency and Innovation, People and the Community); People (relevant principles: People and the Community and Food); Animals (relevant principle: Animal Health and Welfare); and Progress (relevant principles: Natural Resources, People and the Community, Animal Health and Welfare, Food, Efficiency and Innovation).”

USRSB

The USRSB is a multi-stakeholder initiative developed to advance, support and communicate continuous improvement in sustainability of the U.S. beef value chain. In 2019, the USRSB adopted the U.S. Beef Industry Sustainability Framework to voluntarily assess core elements of sustainability and encourage continuous improvement across the U.S. beef value-chain. These core elements include water resources, land resources, animal health and well-being, employee safety and well-being, efficiency and yield, and air and greenhouse gas emissions.

Partnerships